The Hatchling
by PygmyCritter
Summary: A follow up to Hollow Man. We get to learn a bit more about Tamsyn and her father, Henry, who Jack knew well, or at least thought he did.
1. Chapter 1

**Notes: Ok, so here's my attempt at a follow up of Hollow Man. Hope y'all enjoy and thanks again for the praise for Hollow Man.**

"Anyone caught sight of it yet?" Jack asked as he walked along, his gun drawn, keeping a close eye on any movements in the dimly lit corridor.

"I hear something." Tamsyn said as she walked along quietly. "Can't see anything though." she added as she turned in the direction of the noise.

"More than I've got on my end." Owen said, growing more and more bored by the moment.

"Same here." Ianto said, just thankful that he wasn't stuck in the hub making coffee.

"Tosh?" Jack asked.

"Completely quiet." she answered.

"Lots of noises..." Tamsyn said again as something rammed into her, knocking her to the ground.

"Tamsyn?" Jack asked as the woman on the other end trailed off and all he could make out was a grunt and the sound of metal hitting a concrete floor.

"It's heading southeast." Tamsyn answered as she got to her feet and grabbed her torch. "Right for you Ianto." she added as she ran in his direction.

"Everyone move!" Jack odered and everyone obeyed.

All five came barging out of the old school at the same time, guns drawn and at Jack's command, all opened fire on the large green beast that they'd been tracking. It gave a loud groan before suddenly exploding, sending a green slime everywhere, covering the shooters.

"Oh that is just foul!" Owen moaned as he caught a whif of the oozing stuff.

"Like really smelly Jell-O." Tamsyn said as she wiped her face with the back of her hand.

"Oh, the memories of Jell-O wrestling." Jack said with a fond smile and a quick wink in Ianto's direction.

"You've done that too?" Tamsyn asked with a laugh.

"Once or twice." Jack answered.

"Thanks for that image, Jack." Owen said with scowl. "And literally, thank you, Tamsyn." he added with a grin.

"Can we just get back to the hub and get cleaned up?" Tosh asked as she scooped a large clump of the slime out of her hair.

"You're gonna have a clean up in the SUV, Ianto." Jack said as he unlocked the doors.

"I'll help you clean up, don't worry." Tamsyn offered.

"Nice to see someone's willing to help clean up their mess." Ianto said with a pointed look to the others. "Tamsyn, you're bleeding." he said as he looked at her torn shirt.

"It's nothing, just a small scratch." she said as she waved off Jack and Owen who were coming to look at her minor wound.

"Owen will have to take a look at it back at the hub." Jack said.

"Yes, sir." she said mockingly.

It had been more than two months since that night when Tamsyn Reid and her husband, Callum, had their world turned upside down by the death of their only child, Emily. At first she'd been rather eager to hold Torchwood accountable for what had happened, but after some thought, she knew it wasn't their fault.

Since then, she'd taken a prolonged leave from her job as a detective seargent and had opted instead to stay home while Callum worked, once in a while helping the Torchwood team where and when she could. Like now, when Gwen was off for a few days with her mother trying to plan her wedding. The only thing that was bothering her about helping out at Torchwood was Jack and his seeming obsession with her father.

"You know something I haven't asked in a while, Tamsyn?" Jack asked when they were back at the hub and cleaned up and changed. "Your father and his whereabouts?"

"Jack, don't start!" Tamsyn warned. "You've come bloody obsessed."

"I haven't seen in him a long time, I just want to say hello, catch up." Jack said in an appeasing tone.

"If I get him to see you, will you stop harassing me?" she asked, finally giving in.

"Yes, I promise." he said as he held his hand over his heart. Henry Lane had a lot of explaining to do. They'd been together, sometimes as friends, sometimes as much more, for more than a year, then suddenly he'd just vanished. Then he showed up at Emily's funeral, and Jack found out he was Tamsyn's father. Yet Henry had never mentioned a wife or child in the time they spent together. Why?

"I'm meeting him for lunch." Tamsyn said. "If you come back to my house with me, you can see him then." she offered. "I just won't tell him you're coming."

"So deceitful." Jack said with a smile. "Thank you." he looked at her shoulder. "Did you get that looked at."

"Yes, I looked at it." Owen said. "Barely broke the skin, I think she will survive."

"Good." Jack said. "Otherwise I'd have to steal the keys to your house of your body, then I'd have to explain that to Henry, along with asking him some questions." he sighed. "So much bother."

"I'm glad I'm making things easy for you." Tamsyn said with a smile. "You ready?" she asked as she pulled her keys out of her purse.

"Let's go." Jack said.

"Tosh, I'll be back around five so we can do a bit of shopping before tonight." she called over her shoulder as she led Jack out.

"Alright." Tosh said, blushing a bit, hoping no one would ask questions as to why Tamsyn was making it a point to take her shopping and what tonight was.

* * *

**Tamsyn and Collum's house:**

"So where is the dashing Collum?" Jack asked as he looked around at the photos that were seemingly scattered all over the living room.

"He's in Scotland with his brothers." Tamsyn called from the kitchen. "They go up every year to do some hunting." she said. "That, and once in a while it's nice to get away from eachother." she added as she came put out three soup bowls and silverware.

"Sound so loving." Jack teased.

"We've been together almost ten years." Tamsyn pointed out. "A break now and then is nice." she laughed as the doorbell rang. "There's my dad." she announced as she headed for the door and Jack could hear her saying hello.

"Someone's joining us for lunch, Dad, hope you don't mind." she said as she led him into the dining room.

"Not at all, Syn." Henry said with a fond smile as they walked through the door, arm in arm. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Jack standing there. "Him?" he asked as he jabbed a finger in Jack's direction. "We're having lunch with him?"

"Yes, he thinks it'd be nice for you two to catch up." Tamsyn said with a pleading look. "That and he's been harassing me for a month now. So please just talk to him. For me." she added, using the puppydog eyes that always worked like a charm on him.

"Fine." Henry grumbled as he sat down, his daughter disappearing back into the kitchen. "What the hell do you want?" he hissed.

"Answers." Jack answered. "You took off twenty five years ago, not a word to anyone." he whispered. "Then it turns out that you had a daughter during that time we were together."

"She was none of your damned business." Henry said defensively. "Your ego is just bruised, you have trouble imagining that anyone would leave the great Jack Harkness."

"No, I got over that long ago, Henry." Jack said. "But you're lying about something. Lying to Tamsyn." he went on. "She's a friend and I can't let you do that. Why did you take off like that?"

"To protect Syn." Henry replied. "I gave up everything and everyone I cared about to protect my little girl." he said, his voice trembling. "They knew about her, they were going to take her from me, I couldn't let that happen."

"Who was going to take me from you?" Tamsyn asked as she walked in carrying a large serving bowl of soup. "What are you on about, Dad?" she asked, almost fearing his answer.

"Oh, Syn, I'm so sorry." Henry cried. "I've lied to you all these years." he said. "I only hope you can forgive me and understand why I did it."

"What?" she asked as she sat down.

"You're not..." he began as he fiddled with the spoon that she's just laid out. "You're not quite my daughter. Not actually."

"What?" she repeated, her hands shaking.

"You're not quite human, either." he went on. "A friend and I found you, and three others like you, but you're the only one that developed."

"Developed?" Jack asked.

"Rich McDonald and I found a wreckage in a field near his farm." Henry said. "We hauled it to a barn of his and started taking it apart, thinking to use it for scrap." he took a deep breath. "We found four eggs." he went on. "You were the only one that...well, hatched."

"Hatched?" Tamsyn said staring at her father in disbelief. "I hatched from an egg?"

"Yes." he nodded as he stared at the table, not able to look her in the eye. "The other three didn't."

"What happened to them?" Jack asked.

"Rich...it doesn't matter." Henry stopped. "He had told some woman about you, about the wreckage we'd found, and then people suddenly began to come 'round. It wasn't safe, Jack. I had to take Syn and run. I'm sorry that I upset you all those years ago, but I had to protect my daughter."

"I'm a hatchling." Tamsyn muttered as she started to pace around the room. "Not only a hatchling, a foundling hatchling."

"But, you're my little foundling hatchling." Henry said as he took her hand. "Can you forgive me?" he asked, almost begging.

"Just when you think you've seen and heard it all." Jack muttered as he rubbed his temples as he felt a headache coming on.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes:** **Chapter number two, and I think each chapter is gonna be longer than the one before at this rate. Anyways, hope you all enjoy, and thanks again for the good feed back!

* * *

**

Tamsyn quickly pulled her hands away from her father's and moved back from him.

"Forgive you?" she asked. "You've lied to me for the last twenty-six years." she said. "My whole life." she crossed her slim arms over her chest and started at him. "The name on my birth certificate?"

"Tamsyn Grace Lane is your name..." Henry said.

"No, my mother's name." she corrected him, anger starting to creep into her tone. "Rhyne Neal." she said. "Who is that? Did she even exsist?"

"In a round about way, yes." he answered weakly. "Rhyne Neal is an anagram of my name." he explained. "So technically..."

"How did you get that birth certificate?" Jack asked as he watched Tamsyn pace around again, wringing her hands.

"A doctor friend of mine." Henry replied.

"And this huge secret, your daughter's safety." Jack went on. "You couldn't trust me, but the village idot slash drunk, him you trusted. The man who'd do or say anything to get a leg over?"

"I wasn't really thinking." Henry said defensively, sweat starting to build up on his brow. "He was there when I found Tamsyn, he was there when she was born. I didn't know who, if anyone I could trust. And you, you'd go off for weeks on end, I knew so little about you, Jack."

"Hatched, I think you mean." Tamsyn ground out between clenched teeth. "How could you not tell me?" she asked again, "Especially when I came to you so excited about the fact that Callum and I were going to have a baby. I knew you seemed worried, but I thought it was just normal fatherly worrying."

"Part of it was." Henry quickly answered. "Most of it was worry that your baby may look like you when you were born."

"Look like me?" she asked as she sat down. "What did I look like."

"Mostly human." he assured her. "But, there was the small matter of a tail and a horn."

"You were born horny." Jack laughed. "People have accused me of that, but with you it's true." his smile faded at the look Tamsyn shot him. "Sorry."

"A horn and a tail. So, when I had Emily, the doctors could either said, "Congratulations, Mrs.Reid, it's a girl, just mind the tail and horn, they look a bit fragile." she snorted, "Or I could have laid an egg right there the delivery room." she said, almost wishing it had been more than some spoons she'd put out before he got there. "Why don't I have them now? Did your doctor friend take care of that for you as well?"

"No, the tail fell off once you learned to walk." Henry answered. "And the horn broke off when you tripped over the dog once. That small scar on the tip of your nose..."

"I had a horn on my nose?" she squeeked a bit as her fingers instinctively flew to the tip of that appendage.

"You remember when I took you to the zoo and they explained how alligators and crocodiles have them on the end of their snouts, they use them to break out of their eggs." Henry reminded her. "The same thing. Your's just didn't seem to be the temporary type. Duchess took care of that though."

"So, her tail was a sort of training wheel?" Jack asked, not being able to help himself.

"Yes, actually. Only when she was about to fall backwards though." Henry laughed. "Forwards she was out of luck. And you should have seen her cornering when she ran about the house. It seemed to help with balance there."

"Do you have pictures?" Jack asked, unable to contain his amusement at the images that played in his mind. "Home videos perhaps?"

"Jack!" Tamsyn cried in horror.

"No, I wish I did though." Henry answered, ignoring his daughter's annoyance. "And by god, you should have seen her swim!"

"It must have acted as a rutter!" Jack chortled, tears starting to form at the mental picture.

"That's it!" Tamsyn cried. "Both of you, out!" she said as she stood up, grabbed Jack's long coat, threw it at him and opened the front door. "Leave!"

"Syn, I'm sorry." Henry said, "It just brought back such fond memories. Please, I'll do anything."

"Both of you go, please." Tamsyn said again, looking on the verge of tears. "Jack will you tell Tosh that I will be there to help her get ready for her date."

"Tamsyn.." Jack started, suddenly sobered of his near hsyterical laughter.

"I need to talk to Callum." she said as she impatiently waited for them to leave. "I think my husband has the right to know he's spent the last decade with a bloody alien who hatched from an egg."

"You drove me, in case you forgot." he reminded her.

"I'll give you a lift." Henry said, knowing his daughter too well to argue anymore. "I'll ring you later, Syn. I'm sorry again." he added as he made to give her a kiss, but she jerked away.

* * *

Sitting his his car, Henry sighed deeply and looked at Jack. 

"You know, I'd hoped we'd run into one another again, just not like this." he said.

"I'm sorry." Jack answered. "I just wanted to know where'd you taken off to, and why you'd never mentioned her." he added. "I'm sorry, too, that you didn't feel like you could trust me."

"It's history now." Herny replied as he looked at his daughter's front door. "What kind of a freak of nature are you that you haven't aged at all in twenty-five years?"

"You don't think this is natural?" Jack asked, a little bit offended.

"No, but you know what, I feel like hell, so I don't really feel like listening to a bunch of rubbish I probably won't believe." he said as he shook his head. "I'll drop you off and then I'm heading for a pub." he said as he started the engine and took off, Tamsyn watching from the window as she listened to the ringing on her phone, needing Callum to answer.

* * *

"How did lunch go?" Ianto asked as he set a cup of fresh coffee on Jack's desk. "Get to talk to Henry?" he asked.

"Yes." Jack answered. "And it didn't go so well."

"Really?" Ianto asked, smiling. "I mean, I'm sorry. I get the impression the two of you..."

"Were over long, long ago." Jack finished for him. "It was Tamsyn who it didn't go well for, before you gloat too much, by the way."

"What?" he asked, suddenly concerned. As long as it was a bad reunion between Jack and one of his countless ex's it was good, but if his friend had been hurt. "What happened?"

"You two are buddies, I'm sure she'll share with you and Tosh if she feels like it." Jack said as his head turned in the direction of the large door opening. "Excuse me." he said as he went down and greeted Tamsyn, who was looking reasonably worn and worried.

"I'm just here for Tosh." she said as she made to move past him.

"I know." Jack answered. "Did you get hold of Callum?" he asked.

"Yes, he'll be catching a train tonight." Tamsyn answered as she waved over to Tosh who was finishing up some work.

"You need to talk to him." Jack said quietly. "You can't stay mad forever."

"Please just butt out of it." Tamsyn said, sounding very tired . "Almost ready, Tosh?" she called over.

"Almost, just have to save this file..." Tosh answered. "There we go, just need to grab my stuff."

"Where are you two off to?" Owen asked as he sauntered over.

"Shopping, Tosh has a big date tonight." Tamsyn answered with a smile.

"A date?" Owen asked. "Alien, soldier pop?" he asked with a grin.

"Callum's new seargant." Tamsyn snapped as she scratched at the small abrasion on her shoulder.

"Oh." the doctor answered, feeling a little less cocky. "That scratch bothering you?" he asked. "I've got a good cream if it is."

"Yeah, that'd be good thanks." Tamsyn replied with a weak smile.

"You feeling alright?" Jack asked.

"I'm fine." she replied as Tosh walked up. "Let's be off then." she said as she took the offered cream from Owen and was out the door quickly.

* * *

"None of these things would look good on me." Tosh complained as they searched the racks. "All of them are so low-cut and so short."

"You've a nice figure, Tosh, show it off." Tamsyn said as she held up a dark blue dress to her friend.

"This is nice, I guess." Tosh answered, not really feeling so sure of any of the clothes. "I've got a closet full of things, Syn, I could just wear something I've got."

"Your work clothes on a date?" Tamsyn laughed. "Go for that red dress." she said,completely sure of herself. "Trust me, Nick will love it." she added as she knelt down in front of a shoe rack. As she stood up to show Tosh a nice pair of heels, she suddenly felt lightheaded and stumbled back into the clothes rack behind her.

"Syn, are you all right?" Tosh asked, dropping the skirt she was looking at.

"Yes, I'm fine." Tamsyn answered. "I didn't have lunch. That and I stood up too fast. Really, Tosh, it's all right." she said, trying and failing to laugh it off. "Come on, let's buy this stuff so we can get you ready."

"Are you sure?" Tosh asked as she followed Tamsyn to the registers.

"Yes." was the curt reply. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to snap. I've just had a hell of a day."

"If you're sure." Tosh said as she handed over her credit card. "God, I'm nervous."

* * *

Tosh woke up the next morning, feeling a couple of things. Firstly, that sleeping with a guy on a first date, was a mistake, secondly, she was very glad that she'd made that particular mistake because it had been wonderful.

She went into the bathroom and was getting ready to step into the shower while Nick made them some breakfast. She heard the phone ringing, her home phone, so obviously not work. The ringing stopped and Nick stuck his head in the room.

"It's Mrs.Reid on the phone, Tosh." he said as he held out the receiver. "She sounds kinda frantic."

In less than ten minutes, Tosh was at Tamsyn and Collum's door knocking as loud and as hard as she could.

"Come in." she heard Tamsyn answer.

When she walked in, she followed the noise in the kitchen and stopped in her tracks and what greeted her.

"Something is very wrong." Tamsyn said, crying, as she stood in front of Tosh, looking about four months pregnant.

"We need to get you to the hub." Tosh said as she grabbed her friend's hand and was out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes: While I'm much preferring Hollow Man, I'm glad that others seem to be liking this one so far. Thanks again for the reviews and kind words. Enjoy!

* * *

**

"Jack!" Tosh called as she led Tamsyn into the hub. "We've got a situtation here."

"What's wrong?" Jack asked as he ran down from his office, Ianto and Owen on his heels.

"This." Tamsyn said as she pointed to her protruding stomach.

"Owen?" Jack asked as he walked forward, looking intently at the bulge.

"The scratch from yesterday."Owen responded as he stepped forward as well, actually feeling her stomach. "It barely even broke the skin though. And you said that thing was harmless." he said. "Come on down so I can look you over properly."

"What's going on, Jack?" Tamsyn asked as she followed Owen.

"Apparently when that thing scratched you yesterday, it impregnated you." Jack said, slightly unsure of himself.

"So, I'm going to pop out a bloody alien?" she asked as Owen started taking her blood pressure. "You know, Callum and I have talked about having another baby, but this isn't what we had planned."

"Slightly elevated blood pressure." Owen said. "Just change into this gown, Tamsyn." he instructed. "I need to do a full exam." he said, almost apologetically.

"A full exam?" she groaned. "Oh, this day is just gonna be hell, I can tell." she said as she snatched the gown from Owen. "Just wanted a cup of tea and some cereal when I woke up, but no, I find myself bloody pregnant." she muttered. "Overnight." she looked around at the group who seemed to be going nowhere. "Do you mind?" she asked.

"Sorry." they muttered as they walked off.

"What are we gonna do with alien spawn?" Owen asked.

"I don't know." Jack said. "We'll just wait this out, see what comes of it." he said. "Maybe we'll get lucky and it's not a real pregnancy."

"With her luck, I think that's highly unlikely." Ianto muttered.

"Alright." Tamsyn called up. "I've changed."

"That's my cue." Owen said as he headed to examine the shocked mother-to-be.

* * *

"Well, since she came in, and the beginning of the exam, she's progressed about two months I'd say." Owen announced when he came to join the others in the confrence room while Tamsyn got changed. 

"So that puts her?" Tosh asked.

"She's about six months gone right now." he answered as he took a sip of tea that Ianto had so thoughtfully had waiting. "She could be even more along by the time she gets up here."

"We should get a hold of Callum." Ianto said.

"She called him sometime yesterday, had a row with her father." Tosh said. "He's supposed to be coming in at the station about 11:45."

"One of us will be there to meet him." Jack said.

"Figured anything out yet?" Tamsyn asked as she walked in and took a seat.

"No, not yet." Jack answered. "We've never had to deal with a sudden onset of pregnancy before." he explained.

"Great." she muttered with a grimace as a pain shot through her.

"Are you all right?" Tosh asked.

"It's kicking." Tamsyn gasped in pain. "It just keeps kicking." she added as she leaned forward, grabbing her stomach. "Is there something you can give me, Owen?" she asked as she doubled over.

"Come on, I'll see what we have." he said as he took her by the arm and helped her down the stairs, the others following. "Take a seat." he said.

"Jack, please phone my dad." Tamsyn said. "I need him." she said before letting out a scream. "I think it's ripping my insides apart."

"Let's try this." Owen said as he emptied a syringe into her arm. "Let's take a look at you." he added as he lifted her shirt over her now even more protruding stomach. "Damn, you're progressing fast. At this rate you'll be in labor in an hour."

"I'm calling Henry." Jack said as he took off to make the call.

* * *

Half an hour later, Henry Lane was led into the hub by Jack, ignoring all of the stuff that usually mesmorized newcomers, and heading straight in the direction of his screaming daughter. 

"Dad!" she cried when she saw him. "I'm sorry for being cross with you." she gasped as the thing inside her kicked and clawed at her from the inside. "I know why you did it all, I forgive you."

"You're going on as though this is your deathbed." Henry said, voice trembling slightly. "Forgiveness and such. When this is all over, you, Callum and I will all go out for a nice dinner. My treat."

Father and daughter sat together, talking, Henry trying in vain to keep her mind of what was happening to her. Jack pulled the others aside.

"I called Callum and his train's coming in late." he told them in a hushed tone. "Some accident on the tracks. Could be delayed hours."

"Who the hell takes the train?" Owen asked impatiently. "Why not take a plane?"

"I don't think he was taking into account his wife becoming pregnant with some alien lifeform and being just hours from going into labor." Ianto said, fear and worry starting to show in his voice and on his features.

"We need to keep her calm." Tosh said as she headed off to talk to Tamsyn. "Hey." she said as she sat down and took the other woman's hand.

"Hey." Tamsyn said, her hands shaking from the pain. "So, Nick answered your phone this morning." she said, trying to take her mind of what was going on. "I assume all went well."

"Sleeping with a bloke on the first date, Tosh?" Owen asked as he checked Tamsyn's vitals. "Not good form."

"Well at least I knew his name." she snapped, bringing a laugh from Tamsyn.

"Good one." she said before screaming again and holding her stomach. "This damn thing can kick so hard." she wimpered as she looked down and could make out a tri-toed foot imprint on her stomach.

"I hate to do this, but I think we should move you to a cell." Jack said, the others shooting him wrathful looks at his suggestion. "Look, we don't want this thing getting out. If we have it contained in a cell, we can destroy it when it's born." he tried to reason with them. "It's not a request, it's an order."

"Pulling rank, eh?" Tamsyn asked before falling over out of her chair with the next kick.

"I'll get my stuff so I can be in there with her." Owen said as helped the woman up.

"I'll take her down." Ianto offered as he scooped Tamsyn up and headed for the cells.

* * *

Tamsyn lay on a small cot, writhing in pain as Owen moved around her, preparing for the oddest delivery any of them would ever see. The others, on the opposite side of the glass could only look on helplessly.

"Where is Callum?" Tamsyn asked, gasping for breath as the pain became worse.

"He's not gonna be in til around 2:00." Jack informed her.

"I need him." she cried as another wave of pain shot through her. "Oooohhhhhhh!" she screamed as she sat up suddenly.

"Lay back down." Owen said.

"I can't." she said. "Owen, I think it's going to rip my stomach open."

"Just calm down." he said. "I've heard a lot of pregnant women say that." he said, trying to chuckle, but failing miserably.

"I'm serious." she said as the thing starting frantically clawing, blood starting to ooze from her abdomen. "Help me!" she screamed just as the thing suddenly flew out of her stomach, leaving a huge, gaping hole, her limp body falling back onto the cot.

Owen stood there in shock, when he heard a noise and suddenly found a familiar green slime mixing with Tamsyn's blood. Looking up, he saw Jack, Tosh and Ianto standing in the doorway, each holding their gun. His eyes moving to the side just a few feet, he saw Henry sliding down the wall as he stared at his daughter.

"Is she..." Tosh started, tears forming.

"She's dead." Owen whispered as he looked for a pulse. "Tamsyn's dead."

"My little girl." Henry wept as he moved into the cell, dropping to his knees next to the cot. "I did so much to protect her, but I couldn't do anything this time." he said as he closed her dead, staring eyes.

"You're sure, Owen?" Jack asked as he looked over to see Ianto hugging Tosh, both of them in tears, finding himself wiping away tears as well.

"No pulse." Owen answered. "She's gone."

"I want to be alone with her." Henry said after a few moments of stunned silence. Everyone filed out of the room to leave the grieving man.

A few hours later found Owen standing over Tamsyn's lifeless body, cleaning her up as much as he could before Jack got back from the station with Callum, per her father's request before leaving. He didn't want to be in Jack's shoes when it came time to break the news to the man that in the space a couple of months, he'd lost his wife and child.

"Can I see her?" a voice said from above him. Looking Owen saw Callum standing there staring blankly at his wife.

"Yeah, of course." he answered. "Just tell me when you're done, I need to put her away." he said as he patted the other man on the shoulder.

"I love you, Syn." Callum cried as he gave her a kiss. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here for you." he said. "I let you down." he added. He sat in silence for the next half hour, just staring at her face, wanting to take in every thing about her, half afraid that if he didn't, he'd somehow forget. Finally, he stood, giving her one last kiss and left to join his father-in-law at a nearby pub.

Owen waited until Callum had been gone for a few minutes before putting Tamsyn's body into one of the morgue lockers and closing it. He stood staring at the door for a couple of minutes before he left as well, deciding to join Tosh, Ianto and Tamsyn's family at the pub.

* * *

Jack was about to finally go to bed, it being 4 a.m., he was at last tired. He stretched his body as he walked, thinking back over the events of the day. To having to tell Callum that his wife was dead. To seeing the look on his team's face when Owen announced that she was gone. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair in frustration before shutting off the lamp on his desk.

Just before heading down the ladder to his cramped sleeping quarters, he stopped and listened as he thought he'd heard a muffled banging noise. Walking out of his office, he stopped to listen again. It seemed to becoming from the medical bay. He drew his gun and slowly made his way down, stopping in front of the morgue lockers. The banging grew louder, more frantic. Carefully, he opened the door and a hand flew up and grabbed him by his shirt, buttons popping from the strain of the hand.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes: Chapter four, which I would have had up last night if my computer hadn't gone frookie on me. Sorry if I wasn't clear on what happened to the alien, I clear that up down below. Hope you all enjoy, more to come soon in this one, and I'm cooking up a story for Ianto...**

* * *

Jack tried to move back, but the hand wouldn't let him. He tried to pry the fingers loose, but it still was no good. Looking down, he stopped fighting when he saw what, or rather who, it was. Tamsyn. She was gasping for air, clawing frantically at Jack, panic clearly written all over her pale face.

"Tamsyn?" he gasped as he was able finally to get a hold of her hands.

"Dark." she whispered. "So dark, I could barely move." she panted.

"It's all right." he said as he hugged her, trying to make sense of what was happening.

"What happened?" she asked, shaking.

"What all do you remember?" he asked as he stepped back and held her firmly by the shoulders.

"I was in a cell with Owen." she ansnwered as she wiped sweat and tears from her face. "I was in so much pain." she went on. "You all and my dad were standing outside, then, it felt like something ripped my guts out." she closed her eyes, as though she could still feel the pain. "I was pregnant with something..." she trailed off as her hand went to her stomach. It was then that she noticed that she was sitting in the morgue of Torchwood, naked.

Jack's eyes were glued to her stomach, not paying much attention to much else. There was no sign at all that she had in fact had her stomach ripped open.

"You sit tight, I'll go find you some clothes." Jack said as he wrapped the sheet she'd been covered in around her.

"I'm not likely to take off into Cardiff in nothing more than a sheet, am I?" she asked as she pulled the sheet tight around her shoulders as Jack walked off.

Jack pulled out his phone and pressed a speed dial number and waited impatiently for an answer. Finally a groggy, "Hello?" could be heard.

"Owen, I need you at the hub, now!" Jack said as he rummaged in a cupboard, trying to think where Ianto might stash extra clothes.

"Oh, come on, Jack." Owen whined. "It's after four in the bloody morning, and I just got back not too long ago."

"Just get here." Jack answered firmly, hanging up the phone as he finally found some clothes. Just some old sweats, not very fashionable, and probably at least two sizes too big for the petite woman, but they'd have to do.

"Good, clothes." Tamsyn said with a forced smile when Jack came back holding the sweats.

"Not really designer stuff." he said. "Best I could do."

"Better than a sheet." she said as she took them and pulled the sweatshirt over her head. "I'm freezing." she complained as she put the sweats on as well, pulling the drawstring as tight as it would go. "What do we do now?" she asked as she folded the sheet.

"We wait for Owen to get here." he answered. "You need anything, food, something to drink?"

"I'd die for a cup of coffee." she said, then winced. "Bad choice of words there, eh?"

"Kinda, yeah." Jack agreed. "Come on, I'll make us both some coffee."

Jack had made the coffee, found a tin of biscuits Ianto had seemed to have hidden and handed them both to Tamsyn.

"Not to be rude, but you're awful at making coffee." she said as she swallowed the concoction.

"Now you see why Ianto is so valuable to us." Jack laughed.

"Jack?" they heard Owen call.

"In the kitchen." Jack called back.

"What the hell was so important that you had to drag me out of..." Owen grumbled as he walked in and froze.

"Surprise!" Tamsyn said rather mockingly.

"What's this?" Owen asked. "You didn't find another of those damned gloves did you?"

"No, she did this all on her little lonesome." Jack promised.

"How?" he asked as he stood in front of the woman, flashing a light in her eyes.

"I hatched from an egg." she mumbled, trying not to blink at the bright light.

"Yeah?" Owen asked, looking as though she were an escaped Bedlamite. "And I sprang forth from the Queen's loins."

"Oh, now that is just wrong!" Tamsyn complained. "Never say loins and Queen in the same sentence."

"I don't know, I think she's kind of sexy in a stuffy sort of way." Jack said. "I think it's the hats."

"Or perhaps you've a granny fetish." Tamsyn said.

"Just one of many." Jack smiled.

"I need to take a good look at you." Owen said, trying not to picture Jack and the Queen rolling around.

"Can I call Callum and my dad?" she asked as she stood up, getting ready to follow Owen.

"No." Jack said simply.

"No?" she asked in surprise. "Why not? I'd like to think they'd want to know I'm alive."

"We'll probably want to monitor you for a bit." Owen explained.

"For how long?" she asked, looking back and forth between the two men.

"Twenty-four to forty-eight hours." Jack answered.

"A day or two?" she asked. "And where am I to stay and what am I to do in that time?"

"You'll stay here." Jack answered. "And Owen and I will keep you company for that time as much as we can."

"Just you two?" she asked, "Why just you two?"

"I think it'd be best if Ianto, Tosh and Gwen didn't know." Jack said. "Tosh I know has grown very attatched to you, it wouldn't do her any good if she were to find out you're alive just for you to die again."

"Die again?" Tamsyn was shocked. "You think that could happen?"

"I don't know." both men answered.

"You just suddenly came back to life after having your stomach ripped open." Jack said. "Not an everyday occurance."

"Not for anyone but Jack that is." Owen put in. "Come on, let's start checking you out." he said as he took her hand and led her out of the room.

"What happened to the... thing?" she asked as she sat on the exam table, Owen checking her vitals.

"We killed it." Jack answered. "As soon as it popped out, it was dead."

"Pulse could be stronger, but it's there." Owen said as he got ready to check her blood pressure. "How's your stomach feel?" he asked.

"It's sore." she answered with a shrug. "But I've had worse from working out too hard."

"Blood pressure is good." Owen said. "Time to take your temprature."

"You'd better have an ear thermometer." Tamsyn said. "Or an oral one at worse."

"Don't worry, I don't like going around sticking thermometers into people's bums." Owen said with a look to show how disgusting he found that particular idea. "Temperature is a little low."

"Usually is." Tamsyn informed him. "Usually if I'm at the 98.6 I'm running a fever." she looked to Jack. "You're really gonna keep me here for a couple of days, away from my husband, father and friends?"

"Yes," he nodded. "Until we know you're safe."

"And where are you planning on keeping me during that time so that Tosh, Ianto and Gwen won't notice me?" she asked as she saw Owen getting ready to take some blood.

"None of them go down into my little room during the day." he said, as he thought of a place to stash her.

"You want me to hide in a rabbit hole all day?" she asked skeptically. "And what about when a certain someone decides to put in some overtime?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What's he been telling you?" Jack asked.

"Some things that would make even you blush I think." she teased.

"There's a room at the end of the hall of the cells." Owen put in as he put a bandage on Tamsyn's arm where he'd taken the blood. "Or one of the cells itself maybe."

"I don't think that'd be such a good idea." Jack said as he shook his head. "Too many of us go down there. There is a small room that isn't used for anything. Bigger than my "rabbit hole", take in a cot, some books. It'll be like you're on holiday."

"A holiday locked away from family and friends and where everyone I care about thinks I'm dead." Tamsyn said. "Who needs Italy?" she asked.

"Exactly." Jack said as he offered her his arm. "Let me show you to your room, madam." he said as she took the offered arm.

"If I don't die again, I'll make you pay for locking me away from everyone." she threatened.

"I'll be only too glad for you to make good on that threat." he smiled in such a charming way, she almost wanted to smack him.

"


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes: The final chapter of The Hatchling. Hope you enjoy and thanks again for the reviews. Now I'll be getting started on a fic that focuses on my favorite Welsh tea-boy, Ianto Jones. Thanks again!!**

* * *

Tamsyn paced around the small, windowless room, boredom and anxiety eating away at her. She'd been stuck there for an entire day after her seemingly miraculous return from the dead. The first thing she wanted to do, aside from getting some clothes, was phone Callum and her father, but Jack wouldn't allow that.

"What are you all saying?" she muttered as she sat down and looked at the image of the Torchwood team going about their daily routine in the hub. Jack and Owen had been nice enough to bring a television for her, and tuned to the right channel, she could pick up the security link to the hub, but not being able to talk to them was driving her mad.

"Room service." Owen called as he walked in, carrying a paper bag, no doubt containing some sort of take out.

"Thanks." Tamsyn replied with a half smile as she started to remove the chinese takeaway from the bag. "So, how is everyone today?" she asked conversationally.

"Fine, I guess." Owen answered. "Tosh is a bit quiet, on account of you being dead and all." he said. "Ianto's a bit snappy and Gwen seems a little apathetic." he added. "Jack's in a pretty good mood, which isn't going down so well with the others."

"I'm dying to hear all about Tosh's date.." she said as she bit into an egg roll. "I don't suppose you could ask her and then report back to me?" she asked hopefully.

"I'm not gonna go up to Tosh and ask her how her date went." Owen refused. "She'd think it was a bit odd you know." he said as he looked at her. "I pick on the Adonis with a badge, then suddenly I want all the juicy details? I think not."

"Adonis with a badge?" she asked with a laugh. "That sounds slightly bitter." she said as she eyed him. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were jealous."

"If you're going to accuse me of such ridiculous things, I'm leaving and you'll have no company for the rest of the day 'til Jack brings you dinner." Owen said, sounding as though he was getting ready to leave in a huff.

"Oh, don't run off." she said with a sigh. "I'm just bored. Pay me no mind." she added as she picked up a carton of noodles.

"OK then." Owen said, feeling as though he'd gotten his way. "So, is there anything you're gonna need for a bit?" he asked as he took an egg roll and started munching.

"Not that I can think of." Tamsyn answered. "I do have one question though."

"Shoot." he encouraged.

"Will what happened, the whole bloody alien popping from my stomach, and that damned dying thing, will that affect whether or not Callum and I can have more kids?" she asked.

"I don't know." Owen answered, feeling a bit uncomfortable, fearing she may start going on about her women's bits and if they'd continue to work. "Jack just wants to keep you another day. Twenty-four short hours. Then you can find some doctor to look you over." he said as he got back to his feet. "I need to get back."

"Twenty-four short hours?" she responded as she dropped the container of noodles onto the small table in front of her. "Short for you because you're not stuck in some horrid little room nobody knows about, watching your friends on a t.v. and they don't know you're even around." she said. "You're not stopped from talking to your family, the people you love the most. Twenty-four short hours, my ass!"

"I'm sorry." he apologized. "But it's for the best. You don't want to put them all through your death twice." he said, "Your vitals are back to normal, and you can eat, sleep, those are all good signs." he reminded her. "I'm sorry." he said again before leaving to join the others again.

* * *

"You been able to figure out anything that would explain this?" Jack asked Owen while the other's were off getting lunch themselves. 

"No, her blood samples are all normal, nothing odd about heartbeat, heart rate, breathing." Owen shrugged. "When she said something about hatching from an egg..."

"She did." Jack replied.

"I thought maybe being locked up in a morgue drawer just made her go a little funny." Owen said. "So, she's an alien?"

"Yup." Jack nodded. "An alien who looks, talks, walks and feels like a human."

"She just happened to hatch from an egg." Owen said as he made a low whistling sound.

"Glad you're on the same page as us." Jack said as he patted the other man on the shoulder. "I'm gonna go visit our guest."

* * *

"I don't suppose you've come to tell me I can go home?" Tamsyn asked hopefully when Jack entered. 

"Sorry." Jack said, truly feeling sorry for putting her through this.

"I didn't think you'd say yes, just thought it was worth a try." she said as she sat cross legged on a single bed tucked in the corner. "Can I ask something?"

"As long as it's not what you asked Owen." Jack answered. "Not really my area of expertise."

"It's not." she assured him. "I was wondering, do you know anything about any race of aliens that, you know, hatch?"

"No." he answered.

"Do you know anyone who does?" she asked.

"I know a guy who seems to know just everything about every race of alien there is." he answered. "But, he's really hard to get a hold of, he travels all the times." he said softly when he saw her perk up a bit.

"All the time, you mean." she said, thinking she was correcting him.

"Yeah, that's what I meant." he said with a bark of laughter that rather worried her. "I'm sorry. He comes to Cardiff once in a great while, I could always keep an eye out for him."

"I'd like that, thank you." she said with a smile, much warmer than she'd shown since she'd woken up. "I just want to know about where I came from, who I came from."

"I know the feeling." Jack said. "Gang's back from lunch." he said, looking at the monitor. "I'd better be getting back." he said. "People are starting to think Owen and I are up to something."

"You are." she reminded him.

"Well, when he and I disappear at the same time to come see you," he said as he leaned forward "They're thinking some rather dirty things I'm afraid." he added quietly.

"You had to get 'round to Owen sooner or later, didn't you?" Tamsyn laughed. "I figure, by year's end you will have had them all."

"I'll keep that in mind." he said with a sly smile. "See ya later."

"Ciao." she said as she lay down, feeling a bit sleepy.

* * *

"Today's the day." Jack said as Owen hung up his coat. 

"How are we gonna do this?" Owen asked as he yawned.

"I've got Callum and Henry coming in at eleven." Jack answered. "They think they're coming to drop off clothes and to make some arrangements for a funeral home to pick her up."

"Oh come on, that's what you came up with?" Owen said. "They're getting ready to make funeral arrangements and we'll just bring her out and say "No need, boys, our little eggy friend healed herself and here she is. Sorry, we had to keep her from you a couple of days to make sure she didn't keel over." I can see that going real well, Jack."

"Do you have a more gentle way of telling them she's been alive for the last two days, but that we've kept her from them?" Jack asked, feeling a little annoyed, partly because he knew his ruse was rubbish and partly because Owen had pointed it out so rudely.

"No." Owen said sheepishly.

"I didn't think so." Jack replied looking at his watch. "The others should be in soon."

"What are you gonna do about them?" Owen asked.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"What are you gonna do when the rest of the team are pissed at you for not telling them that one of their friends is alive and we didn't bother to let them in on our little secret?"

"What little secret?" Ianto asked as he walked in, taking off his coat, followed closely by Tosh and Gwen.

"You're not going to like it." Jack warned them.

"What secret?" Gwen asked, feeling nervous.

"It's about Tamsyn." Jack said.

"What about her?" Tosh asked.

"She's alive." Jack blurted out.

"What?" all three asked.

"She's alive." Jack repeated, "She somehow regenerated, healed and she's back."

"She came back from the dead?" Gwen asked.

"Where is she?" Tosh asked, eager to see the friend she thought lost.

"How long ago?" Ianto asked.

"We'll bring her out for you, she's dying to get out of that room." Jack answered Ianto first. "We've been keeping an eye on her for the last forty-eight hours."

"Two days?" Tosh asked. "She's been alive, here in the hub, for two days and you never bothered to say anything?" she asked, finding herself relieved, but at the same time furious. "You knew about this?" she asked Owen.

"Jack called me to look her over." he explained.

"You could tell Owen, but not us?" Ianto asked.

"Do Callum and her father know?" Gwen asked.

"Owen is the doctor, I needed him to look her over." Jack explained. "Callum and Henry are on their way over, and neither of them knows." he added, the feeling he was going to have a very angry team on his hands for a while growing. "We didn't want to let too many people know, in case her regeneration didn't last."

"I'm gonna go get her." Owen said, not wanting to be ripped apart for his part in the whole thing.

"How did she...regenerate?" Tosh asked. "Human's can't simply come back from the dead."

"She's not human then is she." Ianto said as he crossed his arms, staring at Jack.

"No." Jack answered. "We don't know what she is."

"Tamsyn!" Tosh cried as she saw her friend follow Owen up from the direction of the cells. "You didn't keep her down with Janet, did you?" she asked him accusingly.

"No, we kept her in some little room I didn't even know exsisted 'til Jack said something." Owen replied.

"I'm so glad to see you." Tosh said, crying as she hugged Tamsyn.

"Oh you don't know how good it is to be out of that room." Tamsyn said as she returned the hug. "Where's Callum?" she asked. "And my dad?"

"They'll be here soon." Jack answered.

"It's good to see you... alive." Gwen said, at a loss for words, as she too hugged Tamsyn.

"Thanks." she replied. "Ianto, don't I get a hug at least?" she asked, as she took the tissue Tosh offered.

"Of course." the Welshman answered as he moved over and got his turn to hug the small woman. "It's really good to have you back." he said as he squeezed her.

"Thank you." she gasped. "You're hurting me, though, Ianto."

"Sorry." he said as he released her. "Breakfast?" he offered.

"Please." she smiled. "Just nothing with eggs." she added.

"Not a problem." he laughed as he headed for the small kitchen.

"So, what do we do 'til my dad and Callum get here?" Tamsyn asked.

"Whatever you want." Jack answered, as he tried to ignore the glares from Tosh and Gwen.

* * *

"Harkness?" Callum called as he forced himself to walk into the hub.

"Coming." Jack called as he went to meet the other man. "How are you holding up?" he asked as he shook both Callum's and Henry's hands.

"As well as could be expected." Henry said. "Can we do this quickly?" he asked. "This isn't my favorite place to be, for obvious reasons."

"Actually, there's something I need to tell you." Jack said rather uneasily.

"What?" Callum asked.

"Come up to the confrence room and have a seat." Jack said, leading the way.

"What's going on?" Henry asked as he sat down.

"You said we could take her, to make the arrangements." Callum said.

"That's what I need to talk to you about." Jack began. "You're going to be both estatic and royally pissed at the same time."

"Why?" Henry asked. "What have you done?"

"I've kept Tamsyn from you the last two days." Jack answered.

"Owen was cleaning her up, we knew that." Callum answered. "It probably would have been the same at a hospital."

"At the hospital, it would have been much more interesting." Jack said.

"What the hell are you on about, Jack?" Henry snapped.

"Tamsyn is alive." Jack said after taking a deep breath.

"Alive?" Callum asked.

"I saw... I saw her...die." Henry mumbled.

"Apparently, her unique make up gave her some regenerative powers." Jack said.

"What?" Callum asked, completely lost.

"She came back from the dead, essentially." Jack answered. "She's not strictly human, that's the only thing I can think of that can explain it." he looked to Callum. "You knew that right?"

"She said something on the phone, that's why I was on my way back." he nodded as he stood up. "So, my wife's been alive the last two days and you're just now getting 'round to telling us?" he asked.

"We didn't have much of a..." was all Jack was able to get out before feeling a large fist in his face, and falling to the ground. "Ok, I deserved that." he said as he stood up.

"You deserve a hell of a lot more than that!" Callum said, his face red with anger. "My wife, I thought she was dead, I've been crying since that night, I've been sitting in our house holding her bloody nightgown, just so I could smell her!" he screamed. "You have some nerve."

"Where is she?" Henry asked.

"Callum?" they heard a voice call, one they knew only too well, one they thought they'd never hear again. "Dad?"

"Syn!" Callum said as he turned to see his wife running in, right to him. "Oh god." he said as he picked her up and squeezed as hard as he could, lifting her from the ground. "I thought I'd lost you." said, tears freely streaming down his face.

"I'm all right though." she said, her voice muffled by his shoulder.

"Oh I missed you." he said as he put her down. "I love you, Syn." he said as he kissed her.

"Get away." Henry said, not being able to stop the tears himself. "She's my daughter you know."

"Dad." Tamsyn cried as she hugged her father.

"My baby." Henry cried.

"Come on, Syn." Callum said when Henry finally let her go.

"I need to say a quick goodbye." she answered.

"Ok. Take your time." Callum said, walking over to Jack he leaned in and whispered. "Stay the hell away from us, I mean it."

Tamsyn was just getting done hugging Ianto when she went over to Jack.

"I'm still mad at you for sticking me in that room." she said with a tearful laugh.

"You're free to seek revenge." he joked. "I hope you'll come by and see us, whenever you want." he said, completely serious. "We liked having you around to help us."

"I'm sorry, Jack." she shook her head. "I just can't. I want to just go home and spend as much time as possible with Callum and my dad. Maybe go back to work at the station." she smiled. "But, that doesn't mean we can't all hang out now and then." she added.

"Somehow I don't think I'm going to be at the top of your husband's guest list." Jack said as he looked over to see Callum glaring at him.

"He'll calm down." Tamsyn said. "I'll talk to him and get him to understand."

"I hope so." Jack said as he hugged her. "Good luck."

Tamsyn took a coat her father offered her and was hugging Tosh again.

"You, Nick, Callum and I are going to have to do a double date soon." she said.

"Most definitely." Tosh agreed as she kissed Tamsyn's cheek and moved away.

"Here." Owen said as he handed Tamsyn a scrap of paper.

"What's this?" she asked.

"It's a name of a top-notch doctor I know." he said. "I'm sure you've got one, but I know him pretty well, we go way back. If you want to know if you and Callum can have more kids, he'll be a great help."

"Thank you." she said as she stood on tiptoe to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "And no matter what you say, you're jealous." she teased before going to join her husband and father.With one more quick wave to the Torchwood team, she smiled, took her husband's hand, and left.

Jack and Owen watched, both smiling before looking back to see Ianto, Gwen and Tosh staring at them.

"I had to keep it quiet!" he pleaded again as he watched them all walk off, seemingly ignoring what he was saying. Not a good sign of the time to come.

**THE END**

Jack


End file.
